He depicted those warlords as savage, greedy, and treacherous, committing every evil.
Tips
history
From a memorial by Qing official Xue Fucheng (薛福成) writing on behalf of Li Hongzhang. He used the phrase to describe rebel commanders like Li Shizhong (李世忠) who were both fearsome and unreliable.
memory
Four damning traits stacked: 桀 (the tyrant king) + 贪 (greedy) + 骜 (haughty) + 诈 (deceitful), a portrait of the worst kind of strongman.
